Physical fitness, long neglected by modern man, has recently come to the forefront of present day consciousness as an essential ingredient in having a healthy and happy life. For many years the United States military as well as the military of other countries found the exercise known as "push-ups" to give particularly well rounded benefits. In fact it is said that a push-up utilizes nearly every muscle in the human body.
However, those practitioners of the push-up exercise occasionally experience pain in their wrists. The pain is caused from the "palms downward" position, which is typical during the push-up exercise. In the typical position the wrist is approximately perpendicular to the horizontal or floor surface, on which the practitioner pushes against in order to raise his body. This is an unnatural angle for the wrist. This unnatural position causes an uncomfortable pressure on delicate bones in the wrist, which are not meant to bear loads, such a substantial portion of a person's weight.
In addition, during the push-up exercise, it is a natural motion for the fists to twist simultaneously with the extension and retraction of the arms. A traditional push-up exercise does not allow this twisting motion and consequently the strain of resisting the natural motion must also be absorbed by the wrists.
Other types of push-ups have been developed which are designed to relieve some of the pressure created by the loading factor described above. Fist push-ups have been known to eliminate pressure on the wrist. However, a fist push-up requires the knuckles to bear at least a substantial portion of the load. The fist position can be exceedingly uncomfortable because the knuckles are also not meant to bear the load created by supporting and raising a substantial portion of a person's weight. Thus, the fist position may cause just as much pain as the "palms downward" position. Further, a fist push-up does nothing to eliminate the stress created by resistance to the natural twisting motion.
Another push-up position, known as the fingertip push-up position has also been developed to relieve the pressure against the wrist created by the palms downward position. In a fingertip push-up, the practitioner pushes off the floor or supporting surface using his fingertips. A substantial portion of the practitioner's weight is supported and raised by his fingertips. As can be appreciated, fingertips were similarly not meant to bear a person's weight. Thus, neither the fist nor the fingertip push-up substantially solve the practitioner's dilemma of doing the well-rounded exercise, push-ups, without placing a load on his body in an unwanted and perhaps unhealthy manner.
The lack of a proper push-up exercise has had a detrimental effect on people doing push-ups and gaining the positive benefits resulting from same. Thus, a need was created for an aide which could assist in providing the beneficial effects of push-ups without creating the harmful side effects. Various exercising devices were designed to meet this need. For example, Rice, U.S. Pat. No. 4,305,579 provided a rotating platform in combination with a stationary base having two posts with hand grips, a rotatable platform between the posts, adjustable weights upon the platform, two rotatable incline pads stationarily located on the platform for standing upon a head brace support on the post and a pull cord from the center of the platform causing it to rotate.
Still others have tried an isometric type of exercising device for approximating the kind of benefit achieved by push-ups. For example, Morrill Jr., U.S. Pat. No. 3,369,809 discloses a platform having at least one pulley journalled for rotation thereon and reeved with a length of rope, the free ends of the rope being connected to handle means adapted to be grasped by the user and pulled upwardly away from the platform to exert a tension on the rope in the performance of the exercises.
A planetary exerciser is disclosed in Palacios, U.S. Pat. No. 3,441,271, which has a base for rotatable mounting on a major platform by means of an annular roller bearing. The opposite portions of the exposed surface of the major platform are adapted to receive and support the feet of the user. A pair of minor platforms are rotatably carried on opposite portions of the major platform by means of ball bearings. The minor platforms include foot receiving and supporting areas disposed on the exposed central surface portion of the minor platforms.
Another exercising device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,077,626 which includes a bench mounted on a platform and adapted to provide a foot space on each side of the bench, a bar traversing said bench attached at its ends to a pair of lines, a linear to rotational motion converter operably attached to said lines and adapted to convert the linear expansion of the lines to the rotational motions and to rewind the lines when the extension is relaxed and a fly wheel responsive to the linear to rotational motion converter and adapted so the pulling of the lines results in the rotation of the fly wheel.
Still another body conditioning device is disclosed in Brandt et al, U.S. Pat. No. 3,936,047 which discloses a machine equipped with a rotating supporting platform and having the ability to tilt at an angle from the horizontal.
None of the above described devices assist in alleviating the strain on the delicate wrist bones and muscles occurring during the exercising event of a push-up. It was left to applicant to create a device which enhances the benefits of push-ups, while eliminating some of the principal faults.